Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware • Hacker News Board

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#51

Post by runjake » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:00 PM UTC

corresation wrote: post #30

Terretta wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> selectively choose which crime stats to promote For example, FBI homicide stats last year show 350 killed by rifles of any kind, assault or otherwise, while 750 killed by hammers. I keep waiting for the groundswell of public support for hammer control.

750 were killed by hammers or clubs which includes any blunt force attack (vase, bat, golf club, etc. I am assuming that you're accurately quoting a number, though last I saw that number was more in the 450 range). Secondly every home has numerous objects that qualify as "clubs", many of them serving valid, functional roles (for instance to hammer, or to hit balls, etc). In many households a firearm has one single pu…

> In many households a firearm has one single purpose, which is to kill or maim (given that hunting is rare).

Kill or maim criminal intruders (given that murderers are rare). I'm not sure where in Canada you are, but hunting is far from rare in Canada and most areas of the US.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#52

Post by btipling » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:00 PM UTC

grimtrigger wrote: post #15

Please keep the politics out of HN. Edit: Referring to some of the comments in this thread, not the article.

I am totally with you on this although meta-discussions are usually not allowed.

I hope pg and moderators find that there is more value in building a community that talks more about technology and startups than the growing group of single minded group of prolific downvote button clickers who make others want to stop participating.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#53

Post by bluedino » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:02 PM UTC

balloot wrote: post #14

In a totally and completely unrelated fact, the rate of gun ownership is also down 30% since the 1980's. It's almost as if the two may have a relationship, but that certainly cannot be the case because the NRA has spent a jillion dollars telling me otherwise!

Less people may own guns, but the people who own them own more per person than they used to.

That said, most guns used in homicides aren't used by the/a registered owner.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#54

Post by learc83 » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:02 PM UTC

corresation wrote: post #30

Terretta wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> selectively choose which crime stats to promote For example, FBI homicide stats last year show 350 killed by rifles of any kind, assault or otherwise, while 750 killed by hammers. I keep waiting for the groundswell of public support for hammer control.

750 were killed by hammers or clubs which includes any blunt force attack (vase, bat, golf club, etc. I am assuming that you're accurately quoting a number, though last I saw that number was more in the 450 range). Secondly every home has numerous objects that qualify as "clubs", many of them serving valid, functional roles (for instance to hammer, or to hit balls, etc). In many households a firearm has one single pu…

>The second is that few argue for "rifle control", but instead want "gun control".

Except that's not what was actually happening. Most of what was hotly debated over the last few months has been over an "Assault Weapons Ban", that is a ban on certain semi-automatic rifles, very rarely involved in crime.

It was only after that was defeated that people started talking about universal background checks.

>Those guns that kill 30,000+ Americans per year

60% of those are from suicide. If you look at suicide rate by country--there is no correlation with gun ownership. How is gun control going to help our suicide rate? The best information we have shows it's not going to help because there are too many easily available alternates.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#55

Post by platz » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:02 PM UTC

Just a sanity check: "Researchers have studied the decline in firearm crime and violent crime for many years, and though there are theories to explain the decline, there is no consensus among those who study the issue as to why it happened."

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#56

Post by lifeisstillgood » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:04 PM UTC

Terretta wrote: post #10

dmix wrote: post #2

Also ALL violent crime is down 50% since 1993. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooa98FHuaU0 Fear is a powerful weapon. The media and politicians know this and selectively choose which crime stats to promote. Emotional outrage > rational analysis when it comes to selling pageviews and building political support. That is nothing new. Fortunately the internet is helping to temper that imbalance.

> selectively choose which crime stats to promote For example, FBI homicide stats last year show 350 killed by rifles of any kind, assault or otherwise, while 750 killed by hammers. I keep waiting for the groundswell of public support for hammer control.

Can you link to these stats ?

(not an evidentiary challenge, just morbid curiosity)

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#57

Post by stevewilhelm » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:04 PM UTC

One of the factors in reducing gun homicide is we have gotten better since 1993 at keeping people alive after they have been shot.

I am interested in the change per capita of gun shot victims as a whole.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#58

Post by zerohm » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:05 PM UTC

balloot wrote: post #14

In a totally and completely unrelated fact, the rate of gun ownership is also down 30% since the 1980's. It's almost as if the two may have a relationship, but that certainly cannot be the case because the NRA has spent a jillion dollars telling me otherwise!

So there are more guns in circulation, but distributed amongst fewer people? This doesn't surprise me.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#59

Post by jeffdavis » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:05 PM UTC

spwestwood wrote: post #20

SuperFreakonomics attributed the dramatic drop in crime in the 1990s to Roe vs Wade. http://www.freakonomics.com/2005/05/15/abortion-and-crime-wh...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Impact_of_Legalized_Abortio...

A number of people disagree with that conclusion based on seemingly reasonable scientific arguments.

Re: Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware

#60

Post by ap22213 » Wed, May 08, 2013, 3:05 PM UTC

As with most things, follow the money. Who benefits the most when the public is frightened of gun violence (and also being told to arm themselves)?

Similarly, war deaths (as a portion of total death) have been decreasing incredibly. Yet, globally we keep increasing our spending on military. And, the public is frightened of war. Some would say that the spending on military has been the major deterrent to war. But, studies show the decrease is more related to rises in democracy and global trade.